I rely on learning to achieve immortality.

Chapter 128 Pre-Battle Preparations

After pondering for a moment, Xu Zhou tentatively asked, "What did Senior Sister Ke mean by what she just said?"

Ke Qiaoshu looked slightly taken aback, as if she hadn't expected him to ask so directly.

However, after a moment's hesitation, she added another sentence.

"He is certainly still alive."

Xu Zhou raised his eyebrows slightly.

Judging from Ke Qiaoshu's calm tone, this statement was not just a wishful thought of the other party, but rather something that actually happened.

Before he could ask any further questions, Ke Qiaoshu immediately shook her head: "This matter involves some secrets. It's not a good thing for you to know too early."

"When the time is right, and your cultivation is sufficient, I may speak to you about this matter again."

Seeing her serious expression, Xu Zhou thought for a moment and ultimately didn't ask any more questions.

Ke Qiaoshu was no longer willing to dwell on this topic, so she quickly composed herself and changed the subject.

"Speaking of which, I do have some favors to ask of you today."

Xu Zhou cupped his hands and asked, "Senior Sister, please speak."

Ke Qiaoshu slowly said, "For the next period of time, I will temporarily take charge of Hongyefang Market."

I'm not very familiar with the nearby Foundation Establishment families, mines, and markets. You've been staying here all these years, why don't you take me on a trip when you have some free time?

Xu Zhou nodded in agreement; it wasn't a big deal.

He casually asked, "With the sect attaching such importance to this, does it mean the battle has already been decided?"

Upon hearing this, Ke Qiaoshu snorted and said, "How can there be anything certain or uncertain about such a thing?"

"It's never a good thing for a sect to remain peaceful for too long. Therefore, even if the Yan Kingdom doesn't start a war, given enough time, we will eventually launch our own attack."

Xu Zhou thought to himself, "Just as I thought."

However, as a cultivator from a sect, he wouldn't comment on it, and simply nodded in agreement.

While she was pondering, Ke Qiaoshu suddenly asked, "By the way."

"I heard that you personally set up the Fei family's protective formation?"

Xu Zhou was slightly taken aback: "Senior Sister knows about this?"

Ke Qiaoshu nodded.

"Before coming here, I read some relevant records at the Imperial Array Hall, including the Fei family's great array."

Her gaze fell on Xu Zhou: "The Imperial Array Hall has a very high opinion of you. It seems that your mastery of array formations is deeper than I expected."

Xu Zhou was secretly surprised.

Ke Qiaoshu continued, "In a while, several temporary outposts will be built on the border, and at that time, several protective formations will need to be set up."

I thought Juan would be coming with them, but I didn't expect them to recommend you instead.

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhou frowned.

"Is this considered a sect's conscription?"

"Yes."

Ke Qiaoshu's answer was quite straightforward.

Xu Zhou felt helpless.

Since it's a sect-wide conscription, it seems there's no escaping it.

Ke Qiaoshu knew what he was thinking and said gently, "But don't worry, the array materials will be provided by the sect, and the merits will be calculated as if it were a Foundation Establishment mission."

If you complete this mission, it will be much easier for you to obtain sect resources in the future.

Having said that, Xu Zhou could only bow and agree, "In that case, I will do my best."

Ke Qiaoshu showed a hint of satisfaction on her face.

"Don't worry, you'll most likely only be responsible for setting up and repairing the formation."

"If we really encounter danger, the front lines won't need a pill refiner like you... or even a formation master, to fight. Everything will be just like it was back in Thousand Wood Forest."

When this past event was mentioned, Xu Zhou's expression softened somewhat.

He then went to the market with Ke Qiaoshu, informing her of the situation of the nearby families along the way.

However, when he was occasionally distracted, he would unconsciously begin to ponder things.

What is the current whereabouts of Ke Yanfeng?

Led by Xu Zhou, Ke Qiaoshu met with the patriarchs of the families surrounding the market.

Her purpose in this trip was to organize everyone into an alliance so that they could pool their strength when the war began and prevent anyone from taking advantage of the situation to stab them in the back.

Therefore, all families need to unite and not allow anyone to escape.

During this process, you may occasionally encounter situations where you want to refuse.

These families are mostly newly established families that have just nurtured their Foundation Establishment cultivators; they are fearless and unafraid. Or perhaps their patriarchs have made a name for themselves outside and are somewhat perfunctory in their attitude towards Ke Qiaoshu.

Whenever she encounters this situation, Ke Qiaoshu will immediately take action and demonstrate her strength.

On one occasion, they even encountered a family member who had been away training for many years and was trying to prove himself against Ke Qiaoshu.

As a result, Ke Qiaoshu simply flipped her hand and suppressed the other party along with the magical artifact on the spot.

The whole process was done casually, as if she hadn't used her full strength at all. Even Xu Zhou, who was standing next to her, couldn't clearly see what methods Ke Qiaoshu had used.

"It seems that there are still high-level cultivation techniques and secret arts in the sect that I have never come into contact with."

Ke Qiaoshu's strength is definitely beyond what can be explained by ordinary mid-Foundation Establishment stage cultivators.

According to Xu Zhou, even if the Hu family patriarch fought desperately, he wouldn't gain any advantage against her.

No wonder the sect felt comfortable sending her alone.

These Foundation Establishment families are already prominent in the eyes of independent cultivators, but they are still far inferior to the core of a true sect.

After this trip, those families finally remembered the prominent position of the Golden Flame Sect in the Mu Kingdom.

Once they became compliant, Ke Qiaoshu began to organize people to establish a temporary post on the border.

Xu Zhou also contributed to this process.

Fortunately, he didn't need to personally set up the formations, as they were only temporary formations. Xu Zhou drew up the blueprints for the formation plates, and Ke Qiaoshu ordered them to be made for future use.

After finishing his business at the front, Xu Zhou temporarily returned to Red Maple Valley.

But this time when I came back, it was far from as leisurely as before.

As the border situation became increasingly tense, news of an impending war gradually spread throughout the towns and villages.

In an instant, almost all the cultivators began to make preparations in secret.

Elixirs, talismans, magical artifacts, and even materials for formations that are usually rarely sought after have become scarce.

As one of the few second-tier alchemists and second-tier array masters in the market, Red Maple Valley has become more lively than ever before.

Within just a few days, several groups of cultivators came to visit.

Most of them have similar desires.

I need either pills or formations.

Xu Zhou usually politely declined the visits of unfamiliar cultivators who came to his door on short notice.

With a major battle imminent, he himself doesn't have enough time, so naturally he won't easily take on extra tasks.

However, there are some people he can't refuse.

Because these people hold the favors he had shown them years ago.

Back when Red Maple Valley was attacked by Ghost Lord, Xu Zhou, in order to eliminate any future troubles, asked nearby cultivators to help hunt down this person, citing their past favors in refining pills three times, thus incurring a considerable debt of gratitude.

Now that the situation is turbulent, these consequences are finally starting to come knocking.

Xu Zhou kept his word.

For a time, the fire talismans in the alchemy room were almost never extinguished.

As for the pills these people wanted him to refine, in addition to some relatively precious healing elixirs, many people also brought rather unorthodox pill recipes that could be used to refine pills that could temporarily boost one's strength.

These pills don't sell well on ordinary days, but once a war starts, they become incredibly hard to find.

Xu Zhou also took the opportunity to learn a lot of secret recipes, which was an extra bonus.

Most of these refining methods are not difficult, and the medicinal materials are all prepared by the other party. Xu Zhou only needs to be responsible for refining, so there is no loss.

With his current mastery of alchemy, the success rate of refining this type of elixir is naturally not low.

In just two months, more than a dozen different types of second-tier pills have been produced.

This day.

Xu Zhou had just seen off a family cultivator who came to seek pills when another young cultivator came to visit outside Red Maple Valley.

The newcomer was only at the ninth level of Qi Refining, dressed simply, but his expression showed a hint of nervousness.

However, the other party claimed to be a young descendant of the Du family and the successor chosen by the patriarch.

The Du family patriarch had also contributed to the capture of the Ghost Gentleman, so Xu Zhou had done him a favor.

Seeing this, Xu Zhou let him into the formation as well.

Upon entering the cave, the other party first bowed respectfully.

Then, he carefully took out a jade box.

"This junior pays respects to Senior Xu."

My ancestor sent me here to request your assistance in refining a batch of Foundation Establishment Pills.

Upon hearing this, Xu Zhou was slightly taken aback.

Foundation Building Pill?

Why would someone come to my door asking me to refine a Foundation Establishment Pill?

As a cultivator who had once tried to obtain this pill, Xu Zhou was well aware of how difficult it was to acquire the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Although the Chamber of Commerce claims to have other ways to obtain this pill, in reality, the Foundation Establishment Pill can be considered a strategic resource anywhere.

Even if the merchant guild could transport the goods to Mu Kingdom, the price would be beyond the reach of ordinary cultivators.

As for directly refining Foundation Establishment Pills, that is even rarer.

The main ingredients for Foundation Establishment Pills in Mu Kingdom are almost entirely controlled by the Golden Flame Sect, and even its own disciples have difficulty finding them.

Xu Zhou never expected that someone would actually be able to find the main ingredient and come to him asking for the pill.

He casually took the jade box, and after opening it, his gaze suddenly sharpened slightly.

Inside the jade box lay a smooth, round bead about the size of a fist.

Although much of the spiritual energy had been lost, it still exuded a faint aura of power, clearly the inner core of a Foundation Establishment demon beast.

"Where did this come from?" Xu Zhou asked, looking up.

The young man hesitated for a moment, but still said truthfully, "This item was obtained by my ancestor when he was young."

Legend has it that when our ancestor was out there training, he was fortunate enough to join forces with others to hunt down a stone-armored monstrous bull and thus obtained this elixir.

Over the years, it has been preserved by the family as an heirloom.

At this point, the young man's expression became noticeably complicated.

"My ancestor originally intended to keep this item in the clan, but now that war is approaching, my ancestor is getting old."

He said that if he were to truly perish on the battlefield and no new Foundation Establishment cultivator appeared in his clan, then keeping this demon core would be pointless. Rather than continuing to offer it as a sacrifice, he decided to take a gamble.

Xu Zhou's brows relaxed.

Although the main ingredient of Foundation Establishment Pills is usually Heavenly Spirit Fruit, in reality, some demon cores are also suitable as the main ingredient.

For example, the demon core of the Stone Armored Terror Bull in front of us is one of them.

There are no demonic beasts living around the Mu Kingdom. Only occasionally can one or two second-tier demonic beasts appear in the southern mountains. Such demonic cores are quite rare.

Xu Zhou gazed at the demon core in the jade box, his heart filled with emotion.

This war seems to have a greater impact than he had previously thought, to the point that some of the weaker Foundation Establishment families have even begun to take desperate measures.

I wonder if I will be affected when war breaks out.

Xu Zhou naturally did not refuse the request to refine the Foundation Establishment Pill.

In reality, the opportunity to refine Foundation Establishment Pills is extremely rare; even if a pill refiner wanted to, they might not have the chance.

Even if the other party has no decency, he will still help refine it.

Unfortunately, this demon core had been stored for too long, and much of its spiritual energy had dissipated, so in the end, it only formed one core.

However, the young cultivator was already quite satisfied with the Foundation Establishment Pill.

Before leaving, the other party held the jade bottle in both hands, his expression excited, and bowed deeply to Xu Zhou: "If this junior can truly establish his foundation, I will definitely come to thank you in the future."

The young man took his leave, and Xu Zhou wished him a safe journey.

About half a month later.

Xu Zhou finished another round of alchemy and walked out of the alchemy room.

For some reason, he suddenly thought of the young man from the Du family.

There's a saying among alchemists that if a Foundation Establishment Pill they refine helps someone achieve Foundation Establishment, it's considered a blessing.

With that in mind, he casually asked someone to inquire about the Du family's situation.

However, the result after he inquired about it left him speechless for a moment.

The descendants of the Du family stopped at the Divine Soul Gate during their Foundation Establishment stage, and died and their cultivation dissipated.

After a long pause, Xu Zhou sighed softly.

Then, he turned around and went back to his room to continue refining elixirs.